Bees?
by EnigmatikaL
Summary: Dean has been a drifter for as long as he can remember, but when he starts to feel unsatisfied with the life he leads, he decides to try staying in one place for a while. He ends up in a small town in Louisiana, where he doesn't expect he'll be staying for too long. That is, until he meets the awkward owner of a bizarrely bee-themed doughnut shop, The Donut Hive.


A/N: So today I got this absolutely adorable bee themed doughnut, and I couldn't help but think of Cas lol. Of course this lead me to start thinking up a doughnut shop AU and how precious and fluffy it would be. My imagination pretty much just took off after that. Also I don't think this AU has been done before, so this should be interesting.

_The Donut Hive_. Dean raised an eyebrow at the brightly colored, honey-yellow letters. He was parked in front of a small building claiming to be a doughnut shop, so why there were paintings of cute little bees and flowers all over the walls and windows was a bit confusing to the man. He didn't want to complain too much, considering this was the only place he was able to find that sold the much craved confection. Dean just happened to wake up that morning deeming it a doughnut kind of day, and he would not rest until he found some.

Having just moved to the remote town of St. Martinville, Louisiana about a week ago, Dean didn't really know his way around too well, so it took him an annoying amount of time and driving to find this weird little place. Normally he wouldn't make his dwellings so official by actually buying a house (albeit a cheap and kind of shitty one), but he was trying out a new change of pace. The unstable life of motel hopping and bar hustling was one he had become all too familiar with for the past fifteen years. It wasn't a very satisfying way of living, but he honestly had no idea what else to do. He had always been the runt of the family, with no great skills or aspirations to be anything great. Sammy was the one made for success, and he was damn proud of it. But sometimes he just felt so lost, like he didn't even understand himself. So Dean drove. He drove everywhere, because that's the only thing he really understood how to do. He never remained in one place, because he just wasn't up for creating the illusion that he could live a normal life like everyone else. That just wasn't him. But it seemed somewhere in between the long drives and the desolation of having no companionships, he realized he wasn't happy.

Having the speak-before-think habit of his he blabbed these feelings to his younger brother. After many pestering conversations over the phone with Sam, Dean finally decided that maybe he should settle down in one place. At least for a little a while. Just to get rid of this weird feeling he was hoping was just a midlife crisis.

So, here he was, in a creepy little town, about to enter _The Donut Hive. _"God, what kind of nutjob is _this_ obsessed with bees?" Dean mumbled to himself. He really hoped the doughnuts made up for the ridiculous theme. Turning off the ignition, Dean walked out of his Baby (his precious car, mind you) and up to the wooden door of the bakery. Honestly, it looked more like a home than a shop, which he guessed made the place seem a bit more welcoming.

As soon as Dean opened the door, it buzzed. It didn't chime, like a normal door to any other establishment would. It fucking buzzed. Like a goddamn bee. The only thing keeping the man from leaving and forgetting he ever even walked into such a place, was the warm, sugary smell of freshly baked goods. Holy shit it smelled amazing. Before he could get a chance to have a good look around the inside, the sound of many things crashing onto the floor startled him. "Shit!" Dean heard the quiet exclamation come from the door behind a small counter, which was then followed by the sound of more things falling.

"Uhh, just a moment please!" A flustered voice shouted. Dean just smirked a little and tried to contain his laughter. He was definitely right in his assumption that whoever owned this place was little on the weird side.

"Take your time, buddy," Dean responded, still biting down on his amused smile. A few moments later he heard the sound of a relieved sigh, before a man walked out of the back wearing a yellow apron with the black printed word - question?- _Bees?. _He had dark, scruffy hair that went in every direction and a small, awkward smile that was wiped off not a second later when a loud clattering sound erupted from behind the door the man had just walked out of. "I just picked that up," he angrily grumbled under his breath. His blue eyes looked so confused and distressed, like this had happened more than once, and it was then that Dean could no longer hold it in and burst out laughing.

"Dude-" he tried to speak over his snorts of laughter, "what- are you even real?"

The man in question just squinted his eyes and tilted his head in confusion. "I...I don't understand that question nor what it is that you are finding so amusing."

It took Dean a minute to calm himself before he could respond. This was some stuff straight out of a comedy. He was glad he took a chance on the place, Dean hadn't laughed this hard in a very long time; he forgot how good it felt.

"Sorry, man. You're just not what I expected." He smiled at the little frown on the man's face. Yeah, this guy was definitely weird, but dear God he was also adorable.

"I do get that quite often…"

"Hey, there ain't nothing wrong with it. I certainly feel less bored than I did five minutes ago, that's for sure."

The shop owner continued to look confused at this, before deciding it was a compliment and going back to his crooked smile. Dean huffed amusedly at how endearing this strange man was and offered out his hand. "Dean Winchester."

"Castiel Novak." He took Dean's hand and gave it a little, stiff shake. "I suppose that you are new here? I don't believe I have seen you before, and not much gets past anyone in such a small town."

"Uh, yeah. Just moved out here a few days ago. Woke up craving some doughnuts and found myself at your place." Dean could tell Castiel wasn't well versed in talking to people by how he was nervously fiddling with the hem of his yellow apron. He was also a bit surprised by how proper the man spoke. Not to be stereotyping and ignorant, but Dean always assumed that people who lived in small towns in the south were a bit less prone to literacy. Kind of made him feel like an asshole for thinking so narrowly.

Castiel's eyes widened and he jumped a little. "Ah, yes, of course! You are here for the doughnuts, not my idle conversation. I apologize, um, welcome to The Donut Hive?" It was almost painful how awkward this guy was, but why the hell was Dean finding it so cute?

"Dude, it's fine. I introduced myself first anyway," Dean chuckled, "I have no problem with, ah, "idle conversation," 'specially if it's with someone so attractive." Did he really just so blatantly flirt with this man he just met not even ten minutes ago. Yes, yes he did. _Welp, might as well lay it all out_, he thought to himself before giving Castiel a charming wink.

The man blinked. "Are you using flirtations on me?" He tilted his head a bit and stared at Dean, as if trying to figure out why anyone would flirt with him.

Dean was taken aback by the blunt question; he was most definitely not accustomed to this sort of response from other people. But Dean wasn't anything if not smooth at sweet talking. "And what if I was, sweetheart?" he flashed a boyish smile.

Castiel stood up straight and blinked again owlishly. "I suppose I should return it?" This guy was literally something else, and Dean was incredibly intrigued.

"How about we save that for later and you show me what you got?"

"What I…? Oh! Yes, the doughnuts, right in here," he pointed to the large glass display next to the counter. Dean had been so engrossed with meeting Castiel, that he hadn't even noticed the grand array of holed pastries right in front of him. Now that he took a chance to look, he should really not be surprised at all by the fact that all of the doughnuts were either bee or flower themed. Well, all except for one that was cat themed and looked completely out of place among the others. As strange as it was, they were all actually very well decorated, quality-wise. Dean was no art critic, but he knew what looked nice, and he could tell whoever made these had artistic talent.

"Any recommendations?" he asked, looking up at Castiel.

"Well, this one here," he pointed to chocolate doughnut with yellow frosting and a cute little bee situated on the side, "is usually a favorite. Though this one," he pointed to a regular yellow and brown striped one, "is kind of my signature doughnut. But then the flower ones are also quite delectable." He squinted in the direction of said 'flower ones.' "You can also never go wrong with the cat doughnut, though I-"

"You know what," Dean said, cutting off Castiel's rambling, "I'll just take one of each." He smiled, satisfied with his decision. Although, watching the man get flustered over his own selection of doughnuts was quite endearing.

"...Really?"

"Sure. Why not? They all seem to look good. Plus, I do eat a lot and I wouldn't mind having some for later."

"Al-alright then," he breathed almost disbelievingly. Dean had to guess since this was such a small town, he probably didn't get a lot of business. If these doughnuts were as good as they looked and smelled, Castiel would most definitely have a new regular customer. Though Dean was pretty sure he'd be back even if they tasted like ass; this shopkeeper was just too intriguing to stay away from.

When Castiel was finished packaging his doughnuts, he set them on the counter and looked up at Dean like he wasn't sure if he was really going to buy all of these. "Um, that'll be twenty dollars."

"No tax?" Dean lifted a brow.

"No, I already add the tax. And I feel adding a few extra cents is ridiculously stupid. So I just even out the price to dollars." At this, Dean lifted _both _brows. Hot and smart. Yup. He'll be back.

"Awesome. Well, here ya go, I guess." He took out a twenty dollar bill from his wallet and handed it to the man. "That was easy," he smiled.

"Yes." Castiel smiled back.

They continued to smile and stare at each other for a while before the door buzzed, signally someone had entered the building and snapping them out of their trance. "Cassie!" A loud, and kind of obnoxious, voice bellowed from behind Dean. Castiel looked over the man's shoulder and rolled his eyes uncharacteristically.

"Hello, Gabriel."

"Hey, that's no way to greet your most favorite person in the world!" Turning around, Dean saw a short man with golden hair sauntering towards the counter confidently like he owned the place. "Who are you?" The guy rudely asked. Dean gave him a face that screamed _what the fuck_, because seriously, who did this guy think he was?

"His name is Dean and he's a customer, Gabriel. Unlike you. So could you please evacuate yourself."

"You are so mean to me, Cassie." The crazy little man pouted.

"Yes, I am. Now go weep about it elsewhere."

"Awww, c'mon. Don't be so-"

"Uhhh," Dean raised his voice and pointed his thumb towards the exit, "I think I'm gonna leave now. You seem like you're about to have your hands full with this guy."

Castiel turned to glare at Gabriel before looking back at Dean apologetically. "I hope you enjoy the doughnuts," he murmured as he handed him over the two boxes. "Do come back soon."

"Oh I'll definitely be back soon, Cas." He said and then turned around to make his exit. Dean made sure to look back and give the man behind the counter his best smile before leaving the building and walking to his car. The idea of living in St. Martinville just got a little bit better.

Meanwhile, back inside The Donut Hive, Gabriel gave Castiel a suggestive look. "_Cas_?" He waggled his eyebrows. "You two seem pretty cozy."

"Shut up, you insufferable midget." His face flushed as he tried to make himself busy. It was a wasted effort, because all he could think about for the rest of the day were those bottle green eyes and that wickedly handsome smirk.

A/N: I just want to make it clear that I don't know much about Martinville, Louisiana, other than what I googled. Since this is fanfiction I'll probably be taking a few writing liberties, so I would just like to apologize for any inaccuracies if anyone actually lives in Martinville or Louisiana.


End file.
